The Mac and Cheese that Won!!!

I did it!!! I did it!!!! I did it!!!

I found a mac and cheese recipe Lee likes!!!!

I wasn't planning on blogging about this recipe, but sometimes life comes out and surprises you. I've made this recipe I found on Recipezaar before, but Lee wasn't home. I had wanted a quick mac and cheese recipe for lunch and didn't have any Velveeta. I liked it, thought the garlic taste was a little much, but I had a large clove of farm-fresh garlic, so blamed it on that.

Today I wanted mac and cheese for lunch and decided to use this recipe again, with a few variations. I used a smaller clove of garlic, just one, and instead of just cheddar, used part cheddar, part Monterrey Jack. I also made a bit more mac and cheese so that way I could use the whole can of evaporated milk instead of having leftover milk. Lee came in as I was cooking the garlic in the butter and got excited about the smell. I told him that it was for the mac and cheese, thinking that would be the end of him wanting it.

Imagine my surprise when I was dishing out the mac and cheese for myself and asked if he could try some! He thought that since it had garlic in it, he might like it. I let him try a bite and he thought it was good. He asked to try another bite, and he decided to get his own bowl, then he went back for seconds!!!

Lee said he likes the light garlic flavor in it and thinks that it is more creamy and less cheesy tasting than the others that I've tried. I won't argue with him if it got him liking mac and cheese!!!

Oh, happy day!!!

The Mac and Cheese that Won (aka Quick Macaroni and Cheese)

10 ounces uncooked macaroni
salt
1½ tbsp butter
1 clove garlic
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1½ cups (1 can) evaporated milk
1 cup white extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese

1. In a pot of boiling water, add salt and uncooked macaroni. Cook until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan.
   
3. Mince garlic and add to melted butter, along with cayenne pepper.
4. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add flour and cook for one minute more.
6. Add evaporated milk and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, shred the cheeses.
8. Add cheeses to milk and melt.
   
9. Drain the macaroni and add to the cheese mixture.
10. Allow to sit on a cool surface to thicken for about 5 minutes.

Steamed Salmon with a Ginger/Soy Glaze

Tonight I made another recipe for the Zaar World Tour. I was making a recipe for the "Hot and Steamy" challenge. There was a recipe I found to be interesting called Steamed Salmon with Soy Glaze and I decided to make that last night.

There was one problem with that.

There recipe wasn't complete.

It was missing directions for the noodles and green beans.

I sent a message to the woman who posted the recipe and she let me know that she is trying to edit the recipe and get it fixed, but let me know how to complete the recipe. I didn't get the message until well after dinner last night. That wasn't much of a problem though because I just changed around my plans.

This was delicious!!! It is also low calorie, according to the nutrition facts on Recipezaar. This was pretty easy to make as well. The most difficult part was grating the ginger because it was so moist.

This is definitely a recipe I'll have to make again sometime!

Steamed Salmon with Soy Glaze

4	skinless salmon fillets, 6 oz. each
3	tablespoons soy sauce
1/2	cup soy sauce
1	garlic clove, minced
1	tablespoon finely grated ginger
2	tablespoons shredded ginger
2	tablespoons rice wine or sherry wine
1/4	cup rice vinegar
2	tablespoons lemon juice
1	tablespoon sugar
2	tablespoons sliced scallions
1 (18 3/4	ounce) package soba noodles or 1 (1 lb) box whole wheat pasta
1/2	lb small green beans, sliced in half lengthwise

1. Place the salmon in a shallow dish. Combine 3 t. of the soy sauce, the garlic, grated ginger, and 1 T. of the rice wine and pour over the salmon, turning to coat. Cover and marinade for 15 minutes in refrigerator (fish shouldn't be marinaded for much longer than that).
2. Place the rice vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, the remaining soy sauce, and the remaining rice wine in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir, and when sugar is dissolved, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
3. Fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of salted water and bring to a boil. Remove the salmon from the marinade and place in a steamer basket over the pot. Sprinkle the scallions and shredded ginger over the salmon. Cover and steam over the boiling water for 4 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and keep warm.
4. While the salmon is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook noodles to package directions. Add green beans to the noodles for about 3-4 minutes of boiling time.
5. Drain the noodles, serve on a plate, topped with the salmon, and pour some glaze over the top.

Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese, Third Time the Charm?

I decided to try another mac and cheese today. I had some evaporated milk in the cupboards and it had a recipe for spicy broccoli mac and cheese. Lee has gotten to the point where he doesn't mind the cheese as much if there is something else to balance the taste. I thought the broccoli might help.

Well, the brocoli did help him out, but I accidentally substituted too much mozzarella cheese (putting in 16 oz. when all I needed was 2 oz. to make up for having only 6 oz. of cheddar because for some reason I thought I needed four cheeses) and the macaroni was too cheesy and stringy. I'll have to try this recipe another time with the right ingredients! Even I didn't want the leftovers.

Here is the correct recipe from the can of Carnation® Evaporated Milk:

Spicy Jack Mac & Cheese with Broccoli

2 cups dry elbow macaroni
2 cups chopped frozen or fresh broccoli
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp. bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Bring water for pasta to a boil. Add macaroni and cook per package directions. Add broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking.
   
3. Drain.
4. While the pasta is cooking, mix the cheddar, Pepper Jack, evaporated milk, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, and black pepper in a buttered casserole dish.
   
5. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs (I did more bread crumbs for a more bready coating).
6. Add drained macaroni and broccoli to the cassrole dish with the cheeses. Mix well.
   
7. Pour the bread crumb mixture over the macaroni, cover with aluminum foil and cook for 20 minutes.
8. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden brown.
   

Mac and Cheese, Take 2

So I'm making another attempt at a mac and cheese Lee will like. This was the final recipe I had to make for April's recipe swap. It turned out pretty good, but a bit grainy (although I wonder if that was because I used my enameled cast iron dutch oven for baking since I didn't have a big enough casserole dish, I'll have to get a bigger casserole dish and try again sometime) . Lee can't stand Velveeta and didn't believe me that there was Velveeta in the recipe even though he saw me take out the Velveeta for it! He was actually taking little bites of it and complaining that he's starting to like mac and cheese. Must. find. more. recipes!

I like baked mac and cheese with bread crumbs on top, so I might do that if I make this again. I would also leave out the salt. I added it to be true to the recipe since I was rating the recipe as is for a game, but I think Velveeta has a salty enough taste without adding more. As usual, I'm posting the recipe as I would make it next time with a link to the original.

Oh, and I didn't get to eat this at home. I've been bugging Lee about getting his driver's license. He never got it in England because he didn't really need it much at Uni and when he was with his parents he just made do with them driving him places. He needs a license in the States, but was nervous about it. I ate the mac and cheese on the way to bring him to his license test. He was shocked, but then ecstatic when he passed! He's driving himself to work this weekend and had to take a little driver yesterday afternoon to Radio Shack just because he could. Turns out he was just worried about the test, not the actual act of driving.

Classic Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ white onion, diced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
pepper
4 cups milk
2 lbs. Velveeta, diced
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1½-2 cups breadcrumbs

1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large pan (I used a 6 qt. pan.)
2. Add onion and cook until soft.
   
3. Add flour and cook for a minute or two.
4. Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to package directions and preheat oven to 350°F.
   
5. Add milk and pepper and cook for a few minutes until thickened and bubbly.
6. Add diced Velveeta and cook until melted.
   
7. Drain macaroni and mix cheese sauce and macaroni in a large 5 qt. casserole dish.
   
8. Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 45 minutes.

Rigatoni Bolognese

Well, after this month, I think I may take a break from the recipe swaps on Recipezaar and focus on doing a tag game here and there and my Daring Baker's challenges. I'm finding that I am buying extra food for these things and we're trying to stick to a budget. We've been doing a lot better since I found The Grocery Game, but we're still trying to keep within reason and I also tend to forget about them until the end of the month feeling like I have so much time!

On the topic of The Grocery Game, I do recommend you try it out if you're interested in saving money on groceries! It's $1 for a month long trial, and then there is a small fee after that. We have saved so much in groceries by learning how to combine sales with coupons. I'd read that you should do a price book and use coupons and stock up at "rock-bottom" sales, but can't be bothered to track the sales like that. We have saved about 1/3-1/2 of our grocery bills each week because of this and the savings are getting even bigger now that we're getting through our "stockpiling" stage. I just think it's great so far, so does Lee and now when I go grocery shopping he asks me how much we saved! We're getting to buy fun food for less than we spent on just the basics!!!

I digress...

This post is supposed to be about rigatoni bolognese, so here we go. I had meant to make this on Tuesday night, I had looked at the times and saw the recipe said ½ hour cook time and ½ hour prep. I thought that meant that I should plan a full hour for the cooking. Well...it turned out that the sauce had to simmer for an hour, so it took more like an hour and a half to cook the dinner and by the time I was going to get started on Tuesday, it was getting later, so we just something else quick instead.

On Wednesday, I did set aside enough time to make it. It turned out pretty good, but I found I needed twice the amount of tomatoes that the recipe called for to have enough tomato sauce for the amount of rigatoni used. Lee didn't like the taste of the wine, so I would have to cut that back some more if I made this again, or find a better tasting wine than we used. I know you aren't supposed to cook with a wine you wouldn't drink, but neither one of us are big fans of alcohol, and I don't like red wine much on a good day (I'm a Pinot Grigio girl) so I don't see the point in spending too much money on something we don't use much, that is just meant for a bit of flavour.

I'm posting the recipe how I did make it and would adapt it for making again, but am linking to the original recipe if you would like to look at it.

Authentic Rigatoni Bolognese

2 carrots diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
½ white onion, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground meat (I used turkey)
½-1 cup red wine
1 29 ounce can crushed tomatoes
salt
pepper
½ lb. rigatoni
parlsey

1. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, and onion. Cook until soft.
2. Add ground meat and cook until browned.
   
3. Add wine, tomatoes, salt, and pepper and simmer for an hour on low heat or until sauce has thickened.
   
4. When sauce is almost finished, cook rigatoni to package directions, drain, and mix with sauce.
   
5. Plate and garnish with fresh parsley.

Penne with Tomatoes and Basil

I loved that roasted cherry tomato recipe I made a few weeks back, so I decided to have another go at a similar recipe. This recipe had the same general concept, but it ended up lacking flavour. It did call for some beans, which I left out since I didn't have any, but I really don't think that would have added any flavor at all. I'd have to seriously tweak this recipe to make it taste good and don't think I'll bother when I have one that is similar and tastes so much better.

My Very Own Cheeseburger Macaroni

I love Hamburger Helper® Cheeseburger Macaroni. I've said before, and I'll say it again...I'm trying not to buy boxed mixes because of moving to the UK and trying to save money. I really had a craving for this dinner so I went to trusty ol' Recipezaar to find a copycat. I didn't find quite what I was looking for, but I did find a recipe that I changed to make it taste how I wanted it to.

I liked the taste of this and Lee loved it. He said it tastes so much better than the boxed stuff. I'm used to the boxed mix, so it tasted a bit like something was missing to me, like it needed a bit more spice, but it did taste delicious and I'll plan to make it again. The garlic and paprika are approximate amounts. I just kept adding to it to make it taste how we liked, and will probably tweak it again next time. Definitely make those suit your own tastes if you try this recipe. The paprika does add a bit of spice. I also loved how adding the flour to the meat dried up the juices without me having to drain it, brilliant! I recommend shredding your own cheese. I used to buy the pre-shredded stuff, but when I made the macaroni and cheese a couple of months ago, I noticed that shredding your own fresh cheese makes such a difference in flavor and texture.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

2 tablespoons oil
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups cooked macaroni
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a dutch oven, heat oil.
2. Add onion and garlic. Sauté about 2 minutes, then add the ground beef a cook until browned.
   
3. Add flour, cook it and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the milk, butter, tomato sauce, and spices. Stir until creamy.
   
5. Add the macaroni and stir until well coated. If sauce is too thin, simmer to thicken.
   
6. Top with the cheese and stir to melt.
   

Stuffed Shells

On Saturday, March 22, I decided to try my hand at making stuffed shells. I found a recipe on Recipezaar to try and got started.

I found the shells fairly simple to make, except for the stuffing part. There was no easy way to do it besides just grabbing wads of the stuffing mixture and shoving it in. I already had some pasta sauce in the freezer that I had made a while ago, so I just used that instead of jarred sauce.

I didn't think the filling had much flavor, and Lee didn't like the texture of the ricotta cheese and would have preferred less ricotta and more mozzarella.

I'd make stuffed shells again, but would probably find another recipe to make.

Shrimp and Scallop Scampi

We went out with my family for Lee's birthday. We had the worst service ever! We didn't get our drink orders for a half our, and only got our appetizers after being seated for an hour!

The food wasn't as good as usual either. I had the shrimp and scallop scampi and, while it tasted good, it felt like it was missing something. I took home leftovers and on Saturday, for lunch, added a clove of garlic and some Parmesan cheese. The extra garlic and cheese made a big difference!

Penne with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I'm participating in a recipe swap for the Australia/New Zealand area of Recipezaar. Strangely enough, you don't have to do Australian or New Zealand recipes for this swap, just participate.

Last week, I made some Penne with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. I haven't had many pasta dishes that don't have a sauce, but this recipe sounded the best out of the ones I had to choose from, so I went for it. I love pasta, I love tomatoes, the only thing I wasn't sure about was my boyfriend because he doesn't like raw tomatoes.

This was such a simple, tasty dish to make. I easily threw it together, halved the recipe, and it was on the table in about 20 minutes. I can't wait to make this again!

Note: The recipe doesn't state what type of breadcrumbs to make, I used Italian style. It will take about 30 minutes to cook the full recipe.

Penne with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

2 lbs. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (plus more for serving)
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 lb. penne
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Place tomato halves in a single layer on the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Coat with oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese.
5. Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have wilted.
   
6. After placing tomatoes in the oven, heat a pot of water until boiling. Season well with sea salt.
   
7. Cook penne until al dente.
   
8. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water.
9. Drain pasta and toss with tomato mixture, adding 2-3 more tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and basil.
   
10. Season to taste, adding reserved pasta water if more moisture is needed.
11. Dish out and top with additional cheese to taste.

Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta: Take 1

I love Noodle-Roni. I actually think it's called Pasta Roni now, but I first learned of it as Noodle Roni, so that's what I always still call it. It's kind of like how I still have a hard time calling the amusement park Six Flags New England that name instead of Riverside. It's just not how I think of it.

Anyway, I love the Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta. I love to have it with my Ham and Cheese Crescent Wraps and chicken cordon bleu. Well, tonight was a night for a chicken cordon bleu for me, and a chicken kiev for my boyfriend. It's one of the few boxed meals we've had lately, but it's completely worth it!

I wanted to make my own Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta because I really think I should be able to make it myself, especially since I've learned how to do Rice-a-Roni at home. I also think I have heard they don't have this in England and I really want to have it over there. (A box of powdered buttermilk takes up a lot less space in a suitcase than boxes and boxes of noodle roni!) I have powdered buttermilk and other ingredients listed on the package, so I figured I would go for it. Stop & Shop was having a sale on Noodle Roni this weekend, so I bought a few boxes. I opened one up to use for dinner and as a guide for figuring out how to make it myself.

I should have tried making my dry mix before beginning to cook dinner, but oh well. You live you learn! I was trying to add ingredients while the milk, water, and butter were heating up. I was sniffing the powdered mixes, trying to get the scent right and also watching the coloring to see how I was doing. I ended up having to put in the store bought stuff before I was finished with my mixture. I was doing ok until this happened! I ended up having too much garlic and onion powder for this mixture. It also ended up being a little on the dry side. I think that in my efforts to make the mixture be right, I had too much of the mix (I was trying to compensate for the garlic and onion powder).

I'm going to store the recipe here so I can keep it for tweaking, but unless you are going to play around with the ingredients to fix it yourself, don't try it yet!

Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta: Take 1 5 tablespoons buttermilk powder
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon parsley
1 1/3 cups water
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
140g angel hair pasta

1. Heat butter, milk, and water in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. When just boiling, add the seasonings and pasta.
3. Boil until pasta is tender.
   
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-15 minutes (my sauce pan holds the heat very well and takes a lot longer to cool) until sauce is thickened.
   

A Great Meal for a Great Day

Today has been a fabulous day! I found my keys that I lost about 2 weeks ago. I thought I threw them away, but they ended up in one of my sneakers! I planned to get new keys made today, so it was excellent timing. My car also passed inspection today. It didn't pass inspection on the first try last year, so I'm glad the repairs held. I also got all the errands I planned for today finished.

I planned an Italian meal for tonight that included a homemade roasted garlic bread recipe I found a while ago and was wanting to try. I love school vacations because I have more time to relax, get things done, and cook good food. I think my boyfriend likes school vacations because he gets to eat better food all week long! To go with the garlic bread, I made a chicken parmigiana dinner with a homemade tomato sauce.

The dinner turned out fabulously! We both ate loads and wished there was more to eat. The bread recipe makes two loaves, so I'm trying to freeze some for another day. We'll see how they turn out. I'll definitely love to make these both again.

I was surprised at how easy both of these recipes were to make. They both sound complex, but really weren't difficult at all. The most difficult part of the chicken parm recipe was the heating of the oil and the most difficult part of the bread recipe was the rolling. I think I'm becoming a big fan of homemade breads. The ones I've done so far are really quite easy and since I keep most of the ingredients at home anyway, it's really more convenient, and much more tasty, to just make it myself.

The recipes for the bread and chicken parm are a little long, so I'm just posting the links. I made up the sauce today and am posting that recipe here.

Roasted Garlic Bread


























Authentic Chicken Parmesan


Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

2-28oz. cans tomato sauce
2-28oz. cans diced tomatoes
2-6oz. cans tomato paste
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ bay leaves
1 tsp rosemary
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp basil

1. Put all ingredients in crock pot and simmer on low for 6+ hours.
   
2. Remove bay leaves. Blend with immersion blender if less chunky consistency is desired.

The Pizza Without a Crust

I hate to say it, but I'm kind of becoming tired of our weekly pizza night and we're only two months into it. I needed something different and was glad to find the recipe for Pizza Casserole.

I must admit, we were both somewhat skeptical of the idea of pizza casserole. First of all, it called for bowtie pasta instead of any crust. Second of all, the sauce is a regular pasta sauce instead of pizza sauce. I wanted to try it, and I tagged it for a Recipezaar game, so I did have to make it. We soldiered on.

It wasn't very difficult to make at all, not really any more difficult than making a real pizza. It ended up being like an interesting cross between a lasagna and a pizza. It tasted like a pizza, but the texture was more like a lasagna. It felt more pizza-like the next day for leftovers.

Despite being so skeptical about trying it, we both ended up loving it and the leftovers of a huge pan only lasted us two days! I'll definitely make this again.

The only change I made to the recipe is that I left out the ham. I didn't have any and I don't really like ham much anyway.

Tomato Basil Pizza Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 large can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons basil

1. Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. cook for about 15-20 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring and mashing tomatoes with potato masher to crush.
   
4. Add basil, stir to blend.

Pizza Casserole
1 lb. bowtie pasta
1 lb sausage
1 large onion chopped
sauce (2- 26 oz. jars of spaghetti sauce if not using homemade)
½ lb. cubed cooked ham
½ lb. pepperoni (more or less depending on how far you spread)
24 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Cook pasta until al-dente.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage, garlic powder, and oregano in a sauté pan until cooked and juices run clear.
3. In a slightly greased 9"x13" baking dish, coat the bottom with a thin layer of sauce.
4. Layer ingredients as follows:
   
5. Layer 1: 1/3 pasta, 1/3 sauce, 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, sausage, and onions.
6. Layer 2: 1/2 remaining pasta, 1/2 remaining sauce, 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, ham.
7. Layer 3: remaining pasta, remaining sauce, 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
8. Cover top layer with pepperoni.
9. Bake in 375°F oven for 40 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbling.
   
10. Let sit for approximately 5 minutes before serving.
    

Great Balls of Garlic!

I had a late night at work and didn't much feel like cooking, so I decided to make a well-loved comfort dinner. Of course, I couldn't use my usual recipe for meatballs since I needed to try a new recipe (didn't have much time for a homemade tomato sauce), so I found a new recipe for meatballs.

This recipe called for freshly minced garlic. In hindsight, I should have used my garlic press, but I minced the garlic with a knife. My garlic press gets the garlic much smaller than I was able to mince it. The fresh garlic added a wonderful flavour to the meatballs, but in some spots it tasted a bit too much like garlic. Mixed with the garlic bread I served as a side, it ended up being way too much garlic for this meal! My boyfriend and I both have a strong garlic taste in our mouths and just KNOW we will be smelling of garlic for days! At least we won't have to worry about any vampires.

I've never made meatballs in the oven without browning them in a skillet before. I think they turned out really well just baking them in the oven on a cookie sheet. I actually think they taste better than cooking in the skillet. I'd make this recipe again, but cut down on the garlic.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I just used jarred spaghetti sauce tonight.

1 lb. ground beef
1 small clove garlic, minced (I used large and it was too much)
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
½ cup tomato sauce
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Combine ingredients in bowl and mix until well blended.
3. Form meat into small balls and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
   
4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked through.
   

An Easy Dish After a Crushing Blow

I admit, I'm devastated today by the Patriots loss yesterday. It would have been so much easier if it wasn't for the perfect season, or if it wasn't lost with 36 seconds left on the clock. I love my Pats, and always will. I have avoided the news all day. I tried watching BBC World News America this morning while getting ready for work, but even they had a segment about the game! This is one time I'm glad there is an election going on and it's saturating the news, it makes it easier to avoid being reminded of last night. I know it's only a sport, and I'm just a fan and not a player, but when you love a team so much, it's heartbreaking all the same. Note to news stations: hometown fans would have liked to see House, not continuing news coverage something so depressing. That would have been a sole point of comfort last night, since I couldn't sleep well and was in shock anyway.

But this is a food blog, not a sports blog, so I'll end my rant and get on with the food.

I did not feel like cooking tonight, so I was looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner. I had bought a couple of cans of Rotel the other day because I've heard good things and never tried it. I'm starting to get better at eating spicy foods since my boyfriend likes curry and I wanted to try it to see if it was good. I found a recipe for Rotel Goulash.

I liked it. I thought it was spicy, but drinking a soda with it took care of the burn. My boyfriend thought it was ok. He doesn't really like uncooked tomatoes, or tomatoes that haven't been cooked for a long time, so I think that if I were to make it again I would have to cook the tomatoes for a lot longer than the recipe calls for. He also didn't like the heat in it, strange since he loves curry and liked the Mexican Mashed Potatoes I made a while ago. We both feel that this is a different type of spicy than curry. Curry is spicy in a thick, creamy kind of way...this was spicy in a light way. I hope that makes sense, it's difficult to describe.

Rotel Goulash

1lb. ground beef
16 oz. of tomato sauce
20 oz. of Rotel
8 oz. of elbow macaroni
1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni until al dente.
   
2. While macaroni is cooking, brown the beef in the skillet. If there is a lot of juice, drain.
3. Add the tomato sauce, Rotel, macaroni, salt, and pepper. Simmer 15-20 minutes.
   
4. Shred cheese over macaroni and heat until melted.
   

Baked Mac and Cheese...Take 1

My boyfriend doesn't like macaroni and cheese, but thinks part of it is due to the texture, so I'm on a mission to find a recipe he likes. I'm a huge mac and cheese fan, so I really want to be able to make it! I'm trying curries for him, so it's only fair. ;-)

I borrowed the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook from the library and found a recipe for baked macaroni and cheese and thought I'd give it a go.

Yesterday I had the day off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I decided to do as much prep as I could. (One thing I like about this cookbook is that it has a section for many recipes that tell you how to make it ahead of time, the mac and cheese was one such recipe.) Well, I'm glad I did. My boyfriend ended up slicing his finger on the new chef's knife while cleaning it at 11:30 last night and we ended up going to the ER just to be sure it didn't need stitches. Luckily they didn't even end up registering him and just gave him some strips to keep the wound closed, but we still didn't get to bed until after 1:30. Needless to say, I'm exhausted today! I was so relieved to just mix the breadcrumbs and butter and put on the mac and cheese. I also made some small salads for sides and dinner was done.

The verdict?

This recipe didn't convert my boyfriend as a macaroni and cheese lover. He thought it was better than Velveeta, but still felt like it didn't have enough substance. He said he was tempted to put it between two slices of toast and put some ketchup in it...but he didn't end up doing that. I think he just feels like he should have to chew it...I only served him a little bit in case he didn't like it. He did end up eating a little more, but I think I'll be able to eat loads of leftovers!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese



The recipe calls for chicken broth, which was a surprising addition for me, but America's Test Kitchen says they found it to be the best way to keep the macaroni and cheese creamy without becoming too sweet or dry.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 cups breadcrumbs
salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3½ cups whole milk (do not used reduced fat milk)
1¾ cups low sodium chicken broth (can use vegetable broth for vegetarian)
1 pound Colby cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
pepper

1. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle and preheat the oven to 400°F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and mix with the breadcrumbs.
   
2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and add the macaroni. Cook until almost tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain the macaroni , leave in the colander, and set aside.
3. Dry the pot, add the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and melt on medium heat. Stir in the garlic, mustard mixture, and cayenne pepper. Cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
4. Stir in the flour and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the milk and broth slowly and simmer, whisking often, until the mixture is slightly thickened. This should take about 6 minutes.
5. Take the pot off the heat and slowly whisk in the cheeses until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the macaroni, until well mixed. Be sure to break up any clumps.
6. Pour into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges. this should take about 25-30 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before serving.

To make ahead:
Follow steps 2-5. Cover dish and put in fridge for up to three days or freezer for up to three months. If frozen, defrost for 24 hours before setting out at room temperature for an hour. If refrigerated, set the dish out at room temperature for an hour before cooking. Mix the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over dish just before baking.

Baked Ziti

I know, I know, I've been horrible about posting still...but oh, well. I'm still doing the challenge. :-)

Wednesday night I made baked ziti. Usually I make baked ziti with no meat in it. I decided to do it a little different this time, I used some hot Italian sausage in it. I first tried to cut up the sausage before cooking it, but it only took a bit of a slice before I realized that wouldn't work. So...out comes the skillet to fry up a couple of sausages. I'm not usually a fan of spicy foods, but DB likes them and I must admit, I'm beginning to have an easier time with the heat. The sausages didn't taste too hot for me.

I also was able to use up more of the pasta sauce I made last week.

Baked Ziti
1 package ziti with ridges
3 hot Italian sausages
3-4 cups pasta sauce (to taste)
1 bag mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
   
3. While the water is heating up, cook the sausages in a skillet, turning occasionally.
   
4. When water is boiling, add pasta and cook until softer, but still firm.
   
5. Cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces.
   
6. Strain the pasta and mix in sausage.
7. Pour pasta, sausage, and sauce into a baking dish (I used a 9"x13" pan), making sure the sauce is over all the pasta.
8. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pasta until covered.
   
9. Spray aluminum foil with non-stick spray and cover dish. Put in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Foil may be removed for final minutes to brown the cheese.

Tomayto, Tomato, Pahsta, Pawsta...

However you choose to pronounce it, we had homemade tomato sauce with ziti and italian style ground beef for dinner/tea tonight. I meant to make this Wednesday, but forgot to get up early enough to chop everything and put it in the crock pot. I got home early enough, I could have made it when I got home, but I really wanted to use my crock pot, which took longer than the two hours I had. So...I made it Thursday.

I've been making homemade tomato sauce a lot lately. It saves money and I can suit it to our tastes. I have been using powders instead of the real thing because it cooks faster, but since I was doing the crock pot, I wanted to do the fresh ingredients! My boyfriend said he really noticed a difference and it had a much fresher, more vibrant taste.

Pasta Sauce (in a 5 qt. slow cooker)

1 part diced tomatoes to 2 parts tomato sauce (I can't remember the can size I used, but it pretty well filled my crock pot)
1 can of tomato paste
I medium white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced (we love garlic flavour)
1 bay leaf


I didn't have these fresh, so during the last two hours of cooking I added:
2-3 tablespoons parsley flakes
2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Put ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for approximately 10 hours. This made a lot of sauce and we put the extra in a container to freeze and use later.

Garlic Bread:
1 Italian loaf of bread
butter
garlic salt (I have the kind with parsley)

1. Slice the bread in one inch sections.
2. Leave the bottom crust intact, don't slice all the way through.
3. Butter each side of the slices.
4. Sprinkle garlic salt to taste on each side of the slices.
5. Wrap in aluminum foil and heat in 350°F oven until butter is melted and crust is crispy.

Italian Style Ground Beef:
http://www.recipezaar.com/218857

I hadn't made pasta in a while and both Lee and I are pasta lovers! We didn't realize how much we missed it until tonight!